In His Place

Chapter 4

Shinazugawa lifts an eyebrow at me, "The fuck you mean?" He asks, already looking annoyed.

 
"Oh, you know..." I tease with a smirk on my face. "You like Ms. Kocho, don't you?"

"She's too young for me," he says bluntly.

"No, the older one. Kanae," I clarify, knowing my tease partially fell flat.

 
Shinazugawa shrugs, "I don't know, she seemed nice enough."

I roll my eyes knowingly, "Right. She is a sweetheart." I chuckle, sticking my hands in my pockets nonchalantly.

I look up at the blue sky and think for a moment. The sky is a bright shade of blue. It's completely clear besides a couple of stringy clouds floating through the atmosphere. I never have liked clouds that are so thin and airy, they bother me. They seem to just be whisked away by the wind, like a life cut short. And the wispy clouds never look like any shape but fog. Though they may not be gloomy, they always bore me.

Shinazugawa looks up at the sky with me, confused at what I've been looking at for so long. He sighs, watching the clouds with a hidden interest.

 
"Hey," I finally say, breaking the silence, "do you really want to be a demon slayer?"

Shinazugawa hesitates for a moment, looking back down in my direction. He finally shrugs, looking straight ahead again, "I suppose. That's basically what I've been doing anyways, and if I could get a fancy tool and money to do that, well..." He flashes me a cocky smile similar to the one he had plastered on his face while his arm was being bitten by the demon. "Then I have nothing to lose, now do I?"

I smile brightly, then the realization hits: how long has he been fighting demons without knowing what he was doing? I had the benefit of finding the Demon Slayer Corps early on, yet he seems to be just as experienced as I am. My smile fades slightly as I look into his eyes, "You really hate demons, huh?" Shinazugawa nods. "Yeah..." I sigh, looking back up at the foggy clouds hiding the bright blue sky, "Me too."

Shinazugawa looks away from me, his cocky smile fading along with mine, "What'd they do to you?" he asks quietly, "You don't seem like a guy to 'hate' anybody."

I chuckle at his accusation, "Killed my family," I say bluntly. "My little brother was one of them. He always had a smile on his face..." My smile turns downwards as I look towards the flowing grass underneath our sandals. "You're right, I'm not the type to hate anyone, but if they mess with my family..." I shudder a little as a cool wind flows down my spine, "I'll hunt you down and kill you in the most brutal way I can think of."

 
I finally look back toward Shinazugawa and see him staring at me with wide eyes. He doesn't seem to be scared, only surprised. Once he notices I caught his eye, his eyes dart away. He looks more somber than he ever has, maybe we're more similar than I first thought.

 
"Yeah. They killed my family too," he says vaguely. I watch him, hoping to get more information as his clean white hair flicks in the wind.

 
Realizing I'm not going to get any more information about his past, I sigh, "You know, that uniform suits you. You look extra tough now," I smile warmly.

 
Shinazugawa turns towards me and scowls, "Really?" he says, unbuttoning the second button on his uniform, "It feels like sandpaper. I fucking hate it."

I chuckle, "Yeah, it's not pleasant. Most Corps members wear a white undershirt to keep us from itching ourselves in the middle of battle."

 
Shinazugawa's eyebrows raise, "Ah... yeah, that'd help," he says while itching his neck due to the rough collar.